FPAC Welcomes Agency Decision on Supply Chain Congestion Issues

Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) welcomes the Canadian Transportation Agency’s recent findings around rail service delivery in the Vancouver corridor.

Canada’s forest products sector relies on an efficient and reliable transportation system to move its products throughout Canada and to global markets. Over the past two years, system congestion through the Lower Mainland of BC has created real challenges for our companies and our workforce. Last year alone, rail delays and bottlenecks cost the forest products sector over $500 million dollars.

FPAC supported the federal government’s move to complete a comprehensive diagnostic around these transportation system issues. “This ruling requires annual rail service reports which will result in improved information sharing and greater transparency so we can better pinpoint infrastructure or service problems. Predictability is absolutely critical for sectors like ours that depend on Canada’s rail service to keep our businesses running and our workers working,” noted FPAC ‘s President and CEO, Derek Nighbor. “This is about making sure our rail system can respond to current and future demands. We look forward to continuing our work with our railway partners to support Canadian jobs and grow our economy,” he added.

FPAC remains committed to working with government and all of our supply chain partners to help secure a more competitive, efficient, and effective transportation system. We look forward to learning more about the details of this investigation in the coming days, and believe that the results of this effort can enable the changes necessary to make Canada’s supply chain stronger.

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FPAC provides a voice for Canada’s wood, pulp, and paper producers nationally and internationally in government, trade, and environmental affairs. The $69-billion-a-year forest products industry represents 2% of Canada’s GDP and is one of Canada’s largest employers operating in more than 600 communities and providing 230,000 direct jobs across the country.